Firefighters hoping to improve rating in Oktibbeha County

COLUMBUS — Now that the Oktibbeha County District 5 Fire Department has finished its final test, fire services coordinator Kirk Rosenhan said the department only lacks a few details to complete its report to the Mississippi Ratings Bureau.

“That was it,” he said. “Now all we are doing is pretty much waiting on the mailbox.”

The Commercial Dispatch reports that if the department is successful in improving its fire protection rating from a Class 10 to a Class 8, residents in the district could see reductions in insurance costs of as much as one-third.

The reductions would vary based on terms of individual policies.

Rosenhan estimated the final paper work confirming the new rating should arrive in the next couple of weeks, but even if Class 8 is achieved, reductions on existing premiums would not start until a policy was renewed or a new one purchased.

“Unfortunately, there are no rebates or anything,” he said. “But an updated policy will automatically go from being under a Class 10 heading to a Class 8 heading.

The reductions will also not affect the entire District 5 response area, only the rated fire district — a smaller portion of the actual response area.